Domhnall Gleeson almost turned down Star Wars role

Domhnall Gleeson almost turned down his role in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' as he didn't want the fame that came with it.

Domhnall Gleeson almost turned down his role in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' as he didn't want the fame that came with it.

Domhnall Gleeson

The 34-year-old actor plays General Hux in the new trilogy of the popular sci-fi franchise, but has said he almost turned down the role when it was offered to him because he was "worried" that being recognised in public would "get in the way" of his personal life.

He told Radio Times magazine: "Why would I have thought of saying no? Fame is the end goal for a lot of people but it is not mine. I worried that the accompanying fame would get in the way of how I live my life. It got a little crazy for a couple of months - for a while, going out and having a drink with my friends was difficult, and then it died down."

Domhnall has now signed up to appear in both the upcoming 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi', and its follow-up which is currently just titled 'Star Wars: Episode IX', and recently admitted that he was wowed by some unexpected elements of the script to the eighth movie.

He said: "When I read it I needed to talk to him, and I think that's always a good sign. I was like, 'Wow there's some stuff there which is kind of - not scary but different to what I expected,' and that's a really, really nice thing.

"I think that's a really positive thing, I think that's important for those films that we don't repeat ourselves.

"I just wanted to talk to him, and when I talked to him he was so clear and so confident, not in a brash way but he knew the film he wanted to make, and it was a really lovely thing.

"Just [to] sit down with a filmmaker you really enjoy ... but to see him, just the confidence of it and his excitement about what it could be and everything, it was really pleasing to see."